Who's Pulling the Strings?

If Alberto Gonzales is a wooden ventriloquist doll spouting someone else's lines and President Bush is a marionette whose strings are pulled from above, who is behind the scenes guiding both puppets? Could it be master rapper MCRove?

Competence Not a Requirement

President Bush defended his embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales from a symbolic Senate vote of "no confidence". In the investigation of the firings of eight state attorney generals the White House has been much less than forthcoming. So what does the President do to defend his chief legal minion? He blames the process for dragging out too long, for being too political. Bingo on both, only the accuser is the "pot calling the kettle black".

The testimony of Mr. Gonzales has been laughable for someone supposedly in charge of an important government function. His fuzzy memories have shed no light on critical decision making processes used in the Justice Department. Apparently this batch of attorneys doesn't know how to keep notes, write memos, summarize phone calls and keep files, paper or electronic. Either that or they don't know how to access them to refresh their memories before testifying in front of the people's legislature.

White House pressman Tony Snow pulled out the taffy analogy yet again. Does he spend his time at the Jersey shore, famous for its Salt Water Taffy? What Tony and his rich friends don't understand is how much this story resonates with the average employee. Many workplaces have a dysfunctional power head like Bush and a slithering minion aid similar to Gonzales. People spend their ten hours a day trying to stay on the good side of number one and avoid number two altogether. So Tony, you're wrong. America is sick of sorry leaders at work and at the federal level. Bush's approval ratings are a clear indication.

Bush to Investigate Another "Wrongdoing"?

Considering his failing grade on his last two investigations, how might the President fare on his examination of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' behavior in the firing of eight state AG's? History would suggest poorly.

After the CIA agent name leak, the President promised an internal investigation which was never conducted. Bush never completed the promised task. His other failed investigation was the White House Lessons Learned Report after Hurricane Katrina. It left out critical information about hospital patients. Completely absent from his post mortem included:

1. The hospital with the highest death toll. (LifeCare Hospitals purchased by the Carlyle Group just weeks before landfall)
2. The trade group that coordinated the evacuations from dead facilities. (the Lousiana Hospital Association)
3. The flipping of evacuation triage priorities. (which resulted in the stranding of two patients, left to die in sweltering cesspool surrounded facilities)

So why would Bush do better this time with the hazy memoried Al Gonzales. Will his memory improve enabling the zoned out AG to actually answer a question? But most of all, why is the Attorney General's failure to answer questions about his managerial decisions not considered wrongdoing? After all,

"It's management's job to know!"-Dr. W. Edwards Deming

Might the investigation be dragged out by Alberto's shaky memory more so than political theater? It's a sad day when a leader cannot state the specific performance reasons for firing someone...

Bush Doesn't Care about Competence

As President Bush continues to prop up his ragdoll Attorney General, he might wish to consider the advice of management guru, Dr. W. Edwards Deming:

"It is management's job to know."

Lack of Knowledge Squared

After more than of a month of the U.S. Attorney General's inability to recall performance reasons for dismissing at least eight state attorney generals, President Bush came roaring to Alberto Gonzales' defense.

"He has done nothing wrong," Bush said in an impassioned defense of his longtime friend and adviser during a news conference at his Texas ranch.

Does anyone else find it odd that Alberto initially claimed "good reasons" for giving the eight attorneys their walking papers, then lost those sound justifications in a cloud of hazy memories. What do they smoke in the White House? Apparently George Bush likes leaders who make arbitrary decisions before forgetting them under the light of sunshine. To quote him "nothing's wrong".

A leadership guru who helped rebuild Japan after World War II might say otherwise. The namesake of Japan's Deming prize said:

'Lack of knowledge...that is the problem"-W. Edwards Deming

It appears the Bush/Gonzales team squares the problem. If we added Cheney would it be cubed?

Bush White House Still Hazy

One might think a month's time would clear the smoke in the White House regarding the firings of eight U.S. attorney generals, but Justice Department Chief Alberto Gonzales still exhales effluent. Over 4 weeks ago Tony Snow used the same foggy excuse, Mr. Gonzales recycled it for Congressional consumption. The Attorney General has “nothing to hide” but isn’t sure what he remembers given that “hazy memory”.

In normal organizations there are files, notes, letters, e-mails, reports, documents, approval forms, schedules, minutes, agendas, and meeting records to jog the memory. Recall Alberto Gonzales already met with Congress on this issue. Did he not prepare for his last testimony, earn a failing grade requiring a redo? Note the month long period he’s had to bone up on what really happened, yet his memory remains "hazy".

Add the missing millions of e-mails and the transparent White House waters look as murky as the Potomac in full flood. From the looks of what’s floating by, a different kind of effluent is being discharged from the Bush administration. The world recognizes it but domestically we seem to have trouble. Have we gotten used to the smell after 6 years?